Danganronpa: Melancholic Calamity SYOC
by AmaryllisGreen
Summary: Bloody bruises and faded scars; that's the life of mankind now. The cause of change is but a single person, just one girl's actions took a toll on our lives and affected us as a race all the way up until the current day. It's not about 'Hope' or 'Despair' anymore, 'Lies' against 'Truth'––this is 'Cause and Effect'. [SYOC]
1. SYOC Submission Form - Sneak Peek

[22:39, 05/02/XX23 - Unknown]

* * *

"...Colours fade in and out, weaving into a vibrant quilt with the threads of trust and betrayal, love and hate, life and death. Stitch by stitch, drawings take their first breath and patterns create themselves. Yarn shades the sky and colourful buttons become the people of this land, with the many shapes and sizes they came in. That was how our world came to be; it _was an artistic masterpiece was carved by the hands of various sculptors, shaping the planet what we call Earth as it is today_ …" She whispered, fingers trailing over the dimly lit words in a book, the rusted torch flickering slightly. Her eyes shone with childish awe and wonder, filled with twinkling stars. Then she suddenly frowned, anger bursting into flames as the girl threw the novel in a fit, "How stupid!"

The item collided with a bubble gum pink wall, making a resounding thud as it fell to the floor. She glared daggers at the book which laid innocently on the ground, "It's not fair, it's not fair..."

Crawling off the bed, the teenager stomped her way across the room to pick the book up. She grabbed it, her glossy red finger nails clawing at the cover as she began ripping out pages and scrunching them into littles balls, muttering curses. Stupid book. Stupid author. Stupid human. Stupid world. Why didn't they understand, nothing of that mattered, not when you had–

"Junko? Are you okay?" By the door peered a girl with sleek, short black hair. Freckles lightly dusted her pale face as she looked at her twin sister, concerned.

"Of course. I'm just fine," Junko snapped, tearing at another piece of paper. The big, red shape of a heart practically beamed in the centre, bright and shining, _mocking her_ for the one thing she couldn't have. She ripped it apart into shreds, feeling satisfied as pieces of scrap quickly piled up into a lump of trash on the glossy tiles, "Just fine,"

Mukuro glanced around at the bedroom, thrashed with stationary lying carelessly on the ground and blankets pulled off the bed. A glass vase had toppled off the desk and broke, specks of glass burrowing a single thorned rose. The floor was covered in torn papers and scrunched up so tightly, she couldn't make out what was originally inked on them.

"I assume the preparations have been completed, right?" Junko interrupted the solider from her observation, who blinked at the sudden question, "Right?"

"T-they have,"

"Huh. And the Ultimate Despairs?"

"Following their orders and are currently in hiding on Jabberwock Island," Mukuro answered cooly, regaining her composure.

"Good job," Junko half-heartedly praised, flopping onto the mattress of her bed, "Well, it's about time we got a bit of fun. After the whole take-over-the-world, nothing seems to please me anymore..."

The younger twin knelt down to the ground and started gathering the rubbish in a empty plastic bag found lying on the ground, eying the scattered words across the different pieces. A plain yellow folder caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Mukuro held it up, lightly dusting off the worn cardboard, "Uh, Junko?"

"What is it?" Her sister growled as she sat up, tugging at her strawberry blonde pigtails in irritation.

"This is…" The title read in blaring bold letters 'FUTURE PLANS' with a little sticky note on the bottom corner. The girl had to squint in order to make out the scripted words; 'The next despairing scheme, XX29'

Junko seized the folder out of her hands, quickly reading the first page before tossing the whole thing into the air immediately afterwards, "Oh that. Just some random ideas for our next assignment,"

Papers flooded the already covered the floor like a sheet of snow and not an inch of granite could be seen. Mukuro scanned through the words and photos, "These are… profiles of people,"

She held up a random information report. The picture on the top left corner showed a girl with plain black hair let down with red-rimmed glasses. Reina Kimura the Ultimate... Textile Technician?

"Moron. Not just people, these guys are Ultimates just like us. They'll be… _very important_ in the future," Junko mused, looking down at a particular face, "Especially _this one_ ,"

The other girl frowned, "Who?"

"Doesn't matter! Now shoo! You're in the way of my beauty sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be the big day; you better get all dolled up before then 'cause frankly, you look disgusting. Bye-bye!" Hastily, the Ultimate Fashionista pushed her twin out, slamming the door closed. Oh, she couldn't wait for morning to come! Then, her marvelous killing game with her beloved classmates would finally begin! Still…

Junko began looking through the paperwork which had been cast away, plans formulating themselves in her complicated mind; the colours of the rainbow, the sky scrapper walls, the puzzles and _the killings, the executions!_ Ahh, she could just _feel_ the _despair!_

"Hmm… it'll have to wait for later through," Clicking her ball-point pen, she scribbled a couple of words onto the cover before placing it into a grey, metal filing cabinet. With that, Junko turned off the lights.

.

.

.

 _'Junko's Little Big Nation Project'_

* * *

[11:05, 03/10/XX28]

Wheezes filled the room as a person coughed. Gosh, this place was so dusty–why the hell did _he_ send them here again?

"Huh?" They muttered at no one, looking into the drawer. It was empty, save for tons of dust mites and a plain, yellow folder. Picking the artefact up, they opened the cover. There was nothing in it.

Flipping to the other side, on the pale cardboard cover, barely ineligible words were written; Junko's... Nation Project?

That name. This place. You didn't need to be intelligent to connect the dots. The folder must have belonged to Junko–if it's empty, it might've mean someone took whatever paper was in it. But then why would they leave the cover?

With a grim face, they picked it up and stored it in their suitcase.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! This is my first SYOC Fanfiction, Danganronpa: M** **elancholic Calamity.** **Including my own OC, I will have 18 Ultimates in this story–you can find the rules and submission form below (and on my profile). Depending the situation I may have to add more/subtract the amount of participants.**

 **The prompt of my Fanfiction is 'Cause and Effect' rather than 'Hope or Despair' and 'Lies VS Truth' (as mentioned in the summary), which I hope will add a twist to your normal SYOC Danganronpa Fanfiction.** **If you have any questions regarding that or anything else, be sure to ask me and I'll answer ASAP.**

 **Now, onto what you've been waiting for!**

* * *

 **–SUBMITTED TALENTS–  
**

1x Textile Technician (Mine)

1x Funeral Planner

1x American Football Star

1x Violinist

1x Sole Practitioner

1x Ornithologist

1x Electricist

1x Hyponist

1x Stonemason

1x Paralympian

1x Fireworks Manufacturer

1x Florist

1x Geologist

1x Firefighter

1x Memory

1x Ghosthunter

1x Shrine Maiden

1x Utaite

1x Comedian

1x Satanist

1x Sidekick

1x Tactcian

1x Matchmaker

1x Flight Attendent

1x Waitress

1x Scientist

1x Pixal Artist

1x Robotist

1x Collector

1x Shamisen Player

1x Ballet Dancer

1x Programer

1x Magical Girl

1x Mad Scientist

1x Hunter

1x Online Sensation

1x Kyudoka

1x Metalsmith

1x Internet Sensation

1x Make-Up Artist

1x Mythologist

1x Secretary

1x Drummer

1x Slacker

1x Travel Blogger

1x Vetenarian

1x DJ

* * *

 **–THE RULES–**

 **1.** This is pretty standard but no Mary or Gary-Sues. No one in the world is 'perfect', including me and you; I'd like to make it the same within this world.

 **2.** Please submit your character through PM only. This makes it easier for me and no one wants spoilers. Also, you don't have to but please title your message with your character's name and talent for organisational purposes.

 **3.** You can submit up to four characters! I don't mind if you recycle OCs from other SYOC Fics which they didn't get in but they have to compromise of all the main components below with a good amount of detail. Also, please keep in mind that they might not (all) be accepted.

 **4.** Continuing from the last rule, I apologise sincerely if your character is not accepted. This could be for several different reasons, such as lack of detail or limited available slots. In return, I hope you can be understanding if your character doesn't get in.

 **5.** Take your time! This isn't 'first comes, first serves'. This SYOC will be open for a while, at least until January next year. Throughout the month, I will continuously check the PM Inbox and write the submitted talents below so you'll know if I've read your submission or not.

 **6.** Updates on this Fanfiction WILL be unscheduled! Because of school, medical appointments, homework, procrastination and others, I won't have a set schedule for this story nor any of my others. Please respect that I have my own life too and can't spend all my time writing.

 **7.** Have fun! The sole purpose for writing this fan fiction was to get some entertainment out of it. I hope you have fun creating your own OC and/or reading this story.

 **8.** Just in case I want to change something in the future, I'll have the right to change/add/subtract any rules.

* * *

 **–THE PROFILE–  
(Can also be found on my profile)**

 **• [Basic Infomation]**

 **Name:**  
 **Alias:** Another name they go by or a title the public calls them by. (Optional)  
 **Talent:** You can reuse talents if you want but I'd much rather have some unique and original talents. Be creative!  
 **Gender:**  
 **Age:** 16 – 24  
 **Birthday:** You don't have to include year.  
 **Sexuality:** (Anything goes)  
 **Weight:**  
 **Waist:**  
 **Height:**  
 **Nationality:** Preferably Japanese  
 **Dominant Hand:**  
 **Ethnicity:** (Optional)

• **[Miscellaneous]**

 **Do at least 5–the Rest is Optional. You can also include any other likes/dislikes here.**

Favorite/Least Favourite Colors: E.g. Likes Purple–Hates Red  
Favorite/Least Favourite Animals:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Foods:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Drinks:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Genre:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Music:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Sports:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Subjects:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Numbers:  
Favorite/Least Favourite Quotes:

 **Likes:**  
 **Dislikes:**

 **• [Physical Information]**

 **Describe your character's...**

Hair: Include length, density, colour and any other adjectives, e.g. wavy. How is it often styled?  
Eyes:  
Mouth:  
Nose:  
Ears:  
Face Shape:  
Skin Tone:  
Build:  
Other Features: Do they have tattoos? Or a noticeable mole on their face? Or even, a metallic arm?

 **Physical Health:** Does your character bruise easily? Do they have or have had any terminal illnesses?

 **Immune System:** Does your character get sick easily?

 **Blood Type:**

 **Posture:** How is your character's posture? Do they slouch when standing?  
 **Gait:** How does your character walk?  
 **Voice:** How does your character's voice sound?  
 **Speech:** Do they talk with an accent? Do they speak in slang? Do they swear often?  
 **Fitness:** Does your character get tired easily? Are the flexible?

 **Body Comfortability:** Is your character comfortable in their own skin? Do they express this in their actions/words? Do they wish to change?

 **Daily Clothing:** What would they wear on a normal day?

 **(School) Uniform:** During the game, what would your character wear?

 **Accessories:** Along with your costume, what accessories does your character wear? Do they carry a backpack, wear jewellery, etc.

 **• [Relationships and Status in Life]**

 **Are your character and (Family Member) close? Distant? Do they even exist at all?**

Mother:  
Father:  
Auntie/Uncles:  
Siblings:  
Cousins:  
Non-blood Family:  
Friends:  
Other:

 **Social Class:** How wealthy is your character('s family)?  
 **Lifestyle:** What type of life has your character led?  
 **Life Satisfaction:** Is your character satisfied with their current life? Why/why not?

 **• [Backstory and Education]**

 **Childhood:** Basically, a summary of your character's life up to the game. Their background is pretty important so make sure to make this detailed. Include any life changing events and how they obtained their title, etc.

 **Accomplishments:** What your character considers to be an 'accomplishment' in their life.  
 **Failures:** What your character considers to be a 'failure' in their life.  
 **Regrets:** A moment where your character wish they could go back to badly.  
 **Embarrassing Moments:** A moment where your character would look back to and cringe.  
 **Education:** Did you character receive good schooling? Did they like it? What did they learn?  
 **Intelligence:** Was your character an A+ student? Or are they not really bright…? Can be defined in numeral values–IQ: 78 (Optional)  
 **Primary/Middle/High School Name:** (Optional)

 **• [Mental Information]**

 **Personality:** Everything about your character mentally. Include things like weaknesses, strengths, traits, flaws, good points, additude towards other people, thoughts, anything you can think of. This will be probably the most detailed section.

 **Strengths (Good Character Traits):** List a couple not already mentioned in the [Personality] section.  
 **Weaknesses (Bad Character Traits):** List a couple not already mentioned in the [Personality] section.

 **Thoughts on Life:  
** **Thoughts on Romance:  
** **Thoughts on Killing:  
** **Thoughts on War:**

 **Morals:** What actions/behaviour does your character consider righteous/sinful?  
 **Mood:** What mood is your character normally seen in?  
 **Attitude:** How does your character interact with/view others?  
 **Stability:** How emotionaylly consistent are they?  
 **Expressiveness:** Do they hide their emotions or let it out openly?

 **Values (Virtues):** What virtue do they value the most in life? Knowledge, wisdom, strength, speed, etc.  
 **Values (Object):** What object do they value the most in life? Money, a trophy, a pendent, etc.

 **Interests:** What interests and get your character's attention? Food, (Some Should Relate to Talent)  
 **Fears:** What is your character scared of? Can be comical or serious.  
 **Skills:** What random skills can your character do? How skillful are they at it? (Some Should Relate to Talent)  
 **Hobbies:** What does your character like to do to pass time?  
 **Religion:** Is your character religious? What religion do they belong to?

 **Dreams:** What 'impossible' task do they wish to  
 **Goals:** Short Term–what do they want to achieve in a couple of months?/Long Term–what do they want to achieve in life?

 **Spoken Languages:** Default would be Japanese

 **• [During the Game]**

 **Corpse Reaction:  
** **Execution Reaction:  
** **Investigation Role:  
** **Trial Role:  
** **Reaction being a Suspect:**  
 **Nervous Habits:**

 **Free Time Event:** (Optional)  
 **Character Arc:** (Optional)

 **What would make them a good/bad (Victim/Culprit/Survivor) and why?**

Victim:  
Culprit:  
Survivor:

Possible Motives: What would drive them to kill?  
Execution: (Optional)

 **• [Dialogue] (Optional)**

Just a couple of lines your character might say. Some examples could include an introduction, insults, compliments, reaction to receiving a gift, getting suspected as a killer, greetings, etc. "Hello, my name is…" "What?! That's impossible!"

 **• [Other] (Optional)**

Add anything I've missed or/and that you want me to know.


	2. Authors Note - Sneak Peek 2

**AUTHORS NOTE (11/01/2018):**

Hello! I'm happy to finally say, after a long month or so, this SYOC is finally closed.

I don't think I wrote my utter disbelief in the last chapter but I was completely shocked when I received so many messages! Day by day, I'm joyful to check my phone in my free time and find another notification—to those who put in the effort and submitted a character (or more, to those who did), thank you! I honestly expected to get barely the amount I required but this was totally unexpected.

But this also comes with the down side of having to choose between them. As much as I'd like to include everyone, it's near impossible for me to write a story with so many characters. Honestly, it's actually kinda pressuring, when you know that some people will end up disappointed.

Anyway, I am going to try, and I stress the word try, make the process of choosing my cast as fair as possible.

I apologise if your character/s don't make it on the list.

Also, if you haven't already, please check if your OC's talent is on the list in the first chapter. I have already forgotten to add a couple, having been reminded to do so.

Once again, thank you for your participation and hope to get back to you very soon, with the full cast list!

* * *

 **AUTHORS** **NOTE (30/12/2017):**

Heya! AmaryllisGreen here and (early) New Years! Just letting you know, a week and a half left until the SYOC closes which then after, I'll make my final choices. I know that seems long but I won't be back from my overseas holidays until the 10th of January and I want to give you all the time you need. If you want and I know some people are, you can submit another character; recycling characters are fine, just make sure there's a lot of detail!

Speaking of details, I got a comment on how annoyingly specific my submission form was. I purposely made it like that because, and I'm being very honest here, I am a pretty novice writer! Characters are my flaw and doing something like a SYOC story is completely out of earth compared to what I've been doing so far. As such, I wanted detailed character forms to help me grasp their personality when writing. If it that was inconvenient for you, I apologise.

This is to the people who are considering creating a new or second character; I'm looking for more antagonistic, jolly or, hate to be blunt but dumb personalities in order to balance out the characters I have already received. Of course, you don't have to but it's just a heads up.

Anyway, if I confirm any characters before or after the due date, they'll be written on this list. You can check up on here now and then but I'm warning you know, it's gonna take some time. I am a slow person.

One more thing; I also got a question regarding the time line. This story will take place several years after the tragedy, where the Earth is recovering. If you have any questions, PM about it!

Now, which you probably don't know, I hate writing chapters which are solely author notes. So I have another little sneak peak!

(By the way, this whole thing was been written on my phone and editing on this is pretty hard. I apologise in advance for any mistakes! Also, didn't realise it'd be so long.)

* * *

 **Reina Kiruma — 01**

"...Are you sure about this?" The purple haired detective asked, slightly hesitant to click the little box on the screen of her laptop. It was the first time doing anything like this and it wasn't like she actually knew much when it came to fashion of all things. But, and there was always a but...

"Of course!" Her best friend, Hina said while nodding enthusiastically, her brown pony tail bobbing along with her head, "I haven't ordered anything from them personally but trust me; one of the ladies from the seventh department had her wedding gown ordered from them. It was drop-dead gorgeous! Not to mention, custom made!"

Still, Kyoko had her doubts. Plenty of them in fact, though none of them had anything to do with the company itself; Kiruma was one of the Future Foundation's biggest trading partners and could be trusted to a _certain_ _extent_ however what bothered the woman the most was ordering a dress online. First, it would probably be very expensive and although she was paid handsomely for her job, didn't find the price worth what it was. She was going to wear the thing once than probably store it in the back of her closet so what was the point?

Further more, the gathering was tomorrow. There wasn't nearly enough time to choose a formal dress in one of the store let alone have one custom made! Perhaps she should just go in her detective uniform? It would make her look professional...

As she continued to contemplate all the pro and cons, the Ultimate Swimmer who stood beside her began tapping her foot. Kyoko was over thinking things, Hina thought, just like she always does. Deciding that weren't getting any younger, the tanned athlete took the laptop off her friend and pressed the mouse pad once directly on the box for her friend.

"Hina!" Kyoko gasped, realising just what she had done.

"Wellllll… it didn't seem like you were going to make your choice anytime soon and so I thought, y'know to speed the process up a little bit…" The girl weakly trailed off with sheepish laughter, "...Sorry,"

"I wasn't done filling out that form," What would happen if it wasn't detailed enough? What if she made a mistake in her own measurements? What if the end result was disasterous? What if Naegi thought it looked weird?

Mentally, she fretted furiously; this party was an important event for the future Neo Hope's Peak Academy to gain more supporters of the school and announce the ideas of their latest project. If something went wrong because of her… she wouldn't be able forgive herself.

From the side lines, Hina laughed nervously to herself, trying to convince herself that she did not make a terrible mistake just then.

* * *

Smoke covered skies, terrified screams and bloody corpses. She was so young when the world's most awful, most tragic event in human history took place.

"Reina! You're late!" A woman scowled as the glass door swung open, her sleek brown hair styled into a professional bun. Her brown eyes were sharpener with black eyeliner and she wore basic make up which was barely noticeable. She wore an expensive-looking white designer shirt with a lace collar, tucked under a coal black knee length skirt. Attached to the fabric of her chest was a glossy silver metal badge, reading the following: Kiruma's Second in Command, Haruka Ishiko.

Haruka sat comfortably at her desk, her electronic notebook in front of her.

The room was rather large with a milky cream coloured interior and white tiles. By the entrance that led to a staircase, a hat stand stood next to an antique bookcase and a modern but dusty display cabinet with several trophies and certificates standing proudly, as if they were being shown to the world.

"Sorry, the train was delayed! I ran here as fast as I could!" Reina replied, dumping her colourful bags onto the big central round wooden desk. It was covered with random objects, scraps of fabric and safety pins pushed to the side. A complicated grey sewing machine was situated at next to a retanglar support pillar, spools of white thread laid inside a plastic container on top. Art and craft heaven, for the girl who loved sewing, "Anyway, I heard about another order?"

"Right. Just give me a moment,"

Reina caught sight of the fancy body mirror by the wall, staring at her reflection. Her black hair was bunched up into a messy pony tail, bright red glasses contrasting greatly with leafy green eyes. She wore patterned trousers and a plain white shirt, on top of that a thin grey jacket.

"It should be here somewhere..." Haruka muttered, eyes moving around a messy coffee table. Once the lady spotted what she was looking for—a remote control—she pressed the power button, opening the flimsy, orange projector. The white board came to life as the light flickered, showing a document of sorts, "That's what we're dealing with,"

.

.

.

18/12 — Order #08

1x Formal dress: purple, long, comfortable, not revealing, compatible with gloves, without puffs, without laces

Measurements: ##-###-##

Budget: All fees can be discussed on the day of exchange

Being (Picked Up)/Dropped Off: 19/12, 10:00AM

Kyoko Kirigiri,

Head of Future Foundation's 14th Division and Co-founder of Neo Hope's Peak Academy

.

.

.

"N-no way! The future foundation's, Kyoko Kirigiri!" The younger girl spluttered. Kyoko was a famous detective who survived the Killing Game all those years ago, a major icon to the Japanese society and a role-model to several young ladies across the state. She was practically a celebrity and a well known one, too.

"Congrats, kid. You've got a VIP as an employer," Haruka gave one of her small rare smiles to Reina, who was flabbergasted, "Glad to be working with you, Miss. Ultimate Textile Technician,"

* * *

— Reina Kiruma: Ultimate Textile Technician —

* * *

"Ruka!" Reina whined, pouting through her red rimmed glasses, "Don't call me that!"

She wasn't an Ultimate, was a candidate to be but after the tragedy, Reina never got the chance to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Pretty lucky considering what happened just only a couple of years ago.

"Whatever you say, pipsqueak," With a roll of her eyes, Haruka sat down in leather couch and pulled out a laptop from her shoulder bag, "Let's see... maybe a violet V-neck dress? Oh wow, anything would look good with a body like that..."

"When is it due?" Reina asked, mainly talking to herself, ignoring her co-worker as she re-read the e-mail, "Formal dress... preferably long and computable with gloves? Oh here... the nineteenth? Of December?"

Hang on. Reina whipped her head across to in the corner of the screen, staring at the date until the numbers focused. The eighteenth of December, "What?! It's tomorrow!"

"What," Haruka deadpanned, freezing on the spot as her hands hovered over her keyboard.

Grabbing one of her bags, a black backpack, the textile technician started heading towards the exit of the studio, "I'm going out; we're gonna need some fabric,"

"Come back soon! Every second counts!"

"Got it!"

Hastily, Reina ran down the stairs, trying to be careful and not trip, which happens only two days prior. As she bumped into employees, she quickly waved and said greetings before rushing down to next floor. Kiruma Cooperation was only five stories but she could never find her way through the halls.

Originally, it was her mother's business. The company was only a small, local store in the middle of the street back then. Now, it thrived from the tragedy and with the sponsorship that Future Foundation gave them, it had become one of Tokyo's biggest fundraisers, donating hand-made clothing to some of the more unfortunate people. They also did special orders for the more wealthy people like politicians and workers of the Future Foundation. Just like this instance.

Reina opened the door, licking her lips as she felt the chill take over her body. Inside there were several heaters on every hour of the clock (they went through so much electricity, imagine if they didn't use power from the Eco-friendly solar panels provided by the Future Foundation) but damn, it was cold.

Outside, the teen could see the grass glistening in pale sunlight as ice finely outlined the leaves. Her breaths came out in thick foggy puffs. She should have brought her coat with her but it was too late now and the female couldn't be bothered going back up five flights of stairs.

Zipping her thin fabric jacket up, Reina began speed-walking down the concrete road, stepping over any cracks in path with relative ease as her mind turned its gears.

Maybe she should have drawn a sketch before coming out. Even the most novice of artists would know that they have to—should create a design before creating the actual piece of work. It's incredible risky doing otherwise yet most of the time, the black haired girl found that most of her pieces that she was personally proud of were made on a whim and she had just gone with the flow.

Reina came to a stop, pressing the button by the poll as she waited for the traffic to stop. Nowadays, the streets which were once empty and desolate, now were teaming with life. But gas and smoke filled the city air and she found it hard to breathe sometimes, once finding herself holding her breath subconsciously.

The green man showed itself on the other and she made her way across the road, weaving through the few people that were going the other way. Towards the backend of the city, the area wasn't as populated and was a lot more quiet than usual.

Her first stop was a shop just by the corner; the block was rather small with stained brick walls and a discoloured window, an OPEN sign glowing faintly through the glass. Bits of litter are gathered in piles, old coke cans and plastic bags purposely pushed into the corners. Not very inviting yet she lets herself in anyway, like the many times she had done so prior.

"You're back," Greeted an wheezy voice, low and somewhat rough. It belonged to Takeshi, a rather cranky old man, with mostly grey hair and crooked thinly framed glasses who was by the counter, "Gotta 'nother one, I assume?"

She smiled, walking on the nolgastic ceramic tiles, "Yep,"

Despite what it looked like from the outside, Tailor's Arts and Crafts—the store's name—was rather neat inside, cloth lined up orderly and balls of wool tucked nicely in their baskets. It gave a homely feel, with a couple of potted plants around the place and the lighting a nice bright white. Reina reckoned it had the best natural fabric in both quality and quantity wise in all the shops nearby her workplace; plus, she knew the guy from a while back and got discounts from time to time, a nice little bonus.

"Well, what're you lookin' for now?"

"I dunno. I'll know when I find it, I guess," The teenager hoped she did, anyway. With a twenty-four hour dead line, the least of her worries were on the most important part, the actual design which was really really bad thing, "Can you show me where all your pink, purple, red, blue and everything in between coloured fabric is kept?"

He pointed sideways with his thumb at a plain looking white door, "Section D9 to G4,"

"Thank you!" She flung herself inside, nose twitching as she breathed the stale air. The place was old with flickering lights, the floor boards were cranky and had worn plaster walls.

Reina immediately searched for the signs in the different aisles, stopping by at fourth letter of the English alphabet. The first colours were of creams and pale pinks, turning into an array of flowery hot pink textiles. What first caught her attention was from the tenth and last collum, a wine shade of reddish purple silk like texture. Pretty. The seamstress also had some ribbons in a matching colour as well.

(She knew that it'd be the one. She just knew.)

The teen skimmed through the other sections anyway, finding nice colours of royal blue and one with an interesting pattern of purple triangular shapes.

She left the store with a bag of neatly folded violet-magenta inked fabric and a content smile on her face as she day-dreamed of putting the clothing together, stitch by stitch.

On the way back, a kid came up to her. In torn shorts and a plain wrinkled shirt, with their hands craddled and their head held low. Homeless, her mind supplied, the boy who looked younger than her brother was forced into a situation where he had to beg for the basic necessities to live.

The Future Foundation could only do so much for every individual.

With a solemn expression, she opened her purse and took out a five thousand yen bill along with a spare pack of tissues, gently pushing them into his hands.

"Thank you," The nameless boy said whilst bowing and it makes her heart flutter with pride…

Because she's done something good. Something morally right. But she shouldn't have to.

Kids, adults—no one should go without a home. Without a family. But millions were and it frustrated Reina to her very core, until she felt hot blood pump though her veins and anger grew its control over her movements. She knew that people were like this before the tragedy but it doesn't make it acceptable. In fact, it only made it worse.

The tragedy was truly a tragedy; without it, maybe the teenager would be going school instead of leading her own business. Maybe she'd be able to take holidays and spend more time with her family; her brother deserved so much more as well. Maybe, she'd be… happier.

She blinked and was hazily brought back to reality, standing in the middle of the path way as the other busy citizens were stuck living out their own lives, walking around her. They all seemed so caught up in whatever they were doing, they paid no mind to her or their surroundings. She took a step.

With that, Reina became one of them, just another plain face in a mob of people, minding her own business.

* * *

Dresses are pieces of art. They bring out the best of their wearer and bring with them not only physical changes but mental ones instead. Each cut must be precise, each stitch perfect and everything done without a mistake. Even just a single angle could change everything.

She started her piece, bringing the sheets together as she drew basic outlines in tailor's chalk. Her mind was at ease as she ran her fingers across the silk through the machine, watching dreamily as the threads began to appear one after another, stitching into crosses.

Reina was herself as the core of the dress began to shift into shape, elegant swirls of calm ocean water tied into a simple bow ran across the front and trailed to the back.

Thin lining of a misty purple colour which seemed to replicate the night sky with its glittering lights was placed underneath, soft and gentle to touch. It created light ruffles like a pebble in a lake, memorising as it swayed while gliding across the ground.

Once content with her work, the zip was held in place using hidden back stitches and ribbon of the same fabric used to tie together was trimmed, already attached.

Just as the artist took out her brief case of decorations, her phone rang. Reina waited a bit, decided whether she should just ignore the music—she's in the middle of work—but then the girl realises it already eight at night and Haruka is nowhere to be seen. There's a note at her desk, reading something to do with going on a date tonight and leaving early.

Her ringtone blared a second time, singing the same melody chiming bells.

I'm supposed to be home by now, Reina distressed in thought as she rushed to pick up her mobile device laying in her bag. As it connect, she glanced to see who the caller was: it's her brother, face scowling on her screen.

"Hey," She said simply.

A reply was made shortly after, " **You're late** ,"

"Yeah. Sorry about that but I'm really busy," His sister apologised before further explaining, "We just got a special order and it's due in by tomorrow,"

" **Seriously? Why so soon?** "

"I dunno,"

"... ** _Mum's_ looking for you**," His voice was rather quiet on the phone and there was an awkward silence in the air, despite being hundreds of metres apart.

"Tell her I'll be back. Really soon," Reina said, "Also, never mind her, how are you going? You did do your homework, right?"

" **Ugh, yeah I did. I still don't understand why I have to do the stuff though** ," He groaned and she let out a small chuckle.

"Well, you gotta do what you gotta do,"

" **That is a horrible saying,** " Her brother deadpanned on the phone.

"Hey!" Reina said, using an exaggerated offended tone; she did make the phrase up, "Anyway, it was nice talking to you but I need to continue working; I just have to add a couple of touch ups,"

" **Don't strain yourself** ,"

"I won't. Good night, Toshi!"

"... **Good night, sis** ,"

She hanged up, feeling just that little bit better internally. Alright, just thirty more minutes until she could go home.

* * *

The roads were packed the next morning and traffic was so slow, Kyoko thought that walking would be faster than sitting in the front seat of her car. Excuse her if this was slightly out of character but she didn't have all the time in the world and the detective was pretty curious on how her dress would turn out. Though with Hina practically bouncing in the seat next to her, she couldn't tell just who was more excited for the dress; her, the wearer or her friend.

"Over there!" The swimmer pointed at the tall building just a few blocks away from where they were. Parking her Toyota by the store, the two women entered the store.

"Good morning Ms. Kirigiri, Ms. Asahina," Greeted a professional looking lady as soon as they went through the double doors, "Please come this way,"

Haruka, as it read on her badge, led them down a corridor and past several doors as Hina found herself awkwardly following along. Why did everything have to be so formal?!

Entering a room, it was filled with coat hangers pushed neatly to the side. They were labeled into different categories and covered with a clear material. In the centre, white plastic models stood doing poses while wearing such classy clothing which even Togami would have to acknowledge. Actually, probably not, being the rich jerk-face he was.

"Which is Kyoko's one?" Hina asked, looking all around.

The worker simply smile and began opening the curtains which didn't cover a window but instead, was showcasing room. Inside was another mannequin, this time dolled up in an absolutely stunning dress, a mixed shade of magenta and violet. It was strapless with a single slit in the skirt, revealing layers of pale purple thin mesh—a medium sized bow made up the chest, the centre holding up a simple golden brooch in the design of a rose. There were swirls of pattern that decorated the vest of the clothing.

As they all stared at it, the purple haired women jaw slackened; she was going to wear… that?

"Would you like to try it?" Haruka gently asked and Kyoko simply nodded.

.

.

.

"Kyoko Kirigiri is here?! Already?!" Reina screeched in her seat, looking at her messenger app. It was barely even nine and she wasn't expected anyone to come so soon. And that message had been sent twenty minutes ago.

She ran out the door and down the stairs, tripping on one of the steps and tumbling down, "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch,"

The textile technician was just in time to see the pair—including the detective and Asahina Aoi, the Ultimate Swimmer—leaving, a special dress bag in tow. Kyoko noticed the younger girl and waved, long purple hair tied into a low pony tail.

"Oh. My. God. Kyoko just waved at me,"

"...You're pathetic," Haruka said just as she magically appeared right beside her, "By the way, here. You're fifty thousand yen richer,"

"Huh?"

The second in command dumped a bunch of notes in her hands; it must have been from that order, considering she'd never get paid so much money in a single day and she wasn't due for her paycheck until later that week. Most money from special orders went to her as well, being the sole creator of majority of those dresses and suits. Reina wondered just what she'd use all this money for.

"Also, what happened to you?" Haruka gestured to the younger girl, at her wrinkled clothes, "Did you trip again?"

She could only dumbly nod, head low and ready for its daily scold. It was just another normal day in the life of Reina Kiruma.


	3. The Final Cast

**AUTHORS NOTE (13/01/2018):**

It's been quite process, reading long pieces of texts and crossing out names but this is it! I'm happy to present... the final cast!

Thank you to everyone who participated! I'm happy that so many people submitted characters and was interested in this story. I have to say that choosing between them all wasn't an easy task with so many different characters and really, they were all so good! But unfortunately, I can't accept forty eight characters and I've said this time and time again but I'll do it once more; I apologise if your character isn't one of the eighteen below.

Now, here's what you've been waiting for! Please tell me what you think about the cast so far!

* * *

 **— FINAL CAST—**

 _Total Submissions: 48_

 _Total Confirmed Participants: 18/18_

 _Status: SYOC Closed!_

 **Females:**

1\. Reina Kimura the Ultimate Textile Technician [AmaryllisGreen]

2\. Chiyo Kohaku the Ultimate Ghost Hunter [aWasTooShort]

3\. Kiyono Kurokawa the Ultimate Waitress [Scissor-Snipper]

4\. Tokiyo Endo the Ultimate Shamisen Player [TheRoseShadow21]

5\. Hotaru Ueda the Ultimate Fireworks Manufacturer [Crimson Spider Lily]

6\. Karuta Tagishi the Ultimate (Mad) Scientist [UnpredictableWind]

7\. Rin Kawahara the Ultimate Secretary [Lupus Overkill]

8\. Mitsuko Yakushimaru the Ultimate Shrine Maiden [PitchouliGroovemore]

9\. Kaya Kimishima the Ultimate Veterinarian [irwegwert]

 **Males:**

1\. Ketsueki Hitsugi the Ultimate Funeral Planner [liammarklh88]

2\. Takaya Ichinose the Ultimate Matchmaker [Fyre-Maiden]

3\. Kouya Tsuruta the Ultimate Stonemason [PoisonBanana]

4\. Ren Sonoda the Ultimate Archer [Vixo]

5\. Hiroyuki Kajiwara the Ultimate DJ [LivelyRoses]

6\. Gaberieru Yasunishi the Ultimate Metalsmith [Abitat Eco]

7\. Satoshi Mineru the Ultimate Utaite [Zeabakxx]

8\. Erai Akuhei the Ultimate Satanist [FairyBookworm]

9\. Iwao Fuchida the Ultimate Paralympian [elusiveEmperor]


	4. PROLOGUE — I

She's running. Through blurry shades of green and brown, past bare trunks and waning bushes, her sole focus lies on the crack of light between the lush branches in the distance. She extends her arm out in another attempt to reach her goal but just can't seem to grasp it. She's been running for a while now but somewhere along the line, forgets why.

There's a part of her that wants to stop; what is the point of this endless struggle? She's not getting anywhere and her goal is just so far out of reach. Like a caged bird starving for freedom…

It's impossible.

Perhaps this is despair, she thinks drowsily, to forever suffer in this never-ending cycle called life and death.

 _"—Take a look! This my utopia! This is what your hope has become... despair!"_

And her steps gradually steep to a walk and the girl feels the weight of her limbs grow heavy, her eyes drooping as she ceases to function, like a laptop out of battery.

She stops completely for a moment, maybe a little longer than just that. And at once, her racing heart begins to relax, until she can no longer hear her adrenaline-driving pulse clouding her mind. Instead, she hears the tranquil gale rustling the leaves, birds humming the same old tunes, running water and rocks skipping through lakes—it's so peaceful, she wants to stay here forever.

But then something catches her attention and she looks up, ears twitching. The girl swallows her salvia as she feels her stomach lurch. Like a bird of prey diving down and seizing a helpless fish in a fellow swoop, it's the feeling of dread as you're taken towards your demise. It's the sound of—she ducks down, covering her head protectively.

And remembers.

Just what she was running from.

 _"You're a coward!"_

Taking a shaky breath, she turns around and begins moving her legs. They burn and ache; each step is gut-wrenchingly painful, but she moves anyway, her eyes swelling with hot tears.

It's not fear that's she been overcome with but hazardous anger that her soul is feeding off of. That monster took everything away from her...! Yet she's powerless in this situation and like a puppet on a string, runs like she's been told to.

 _"—Damn, you're so stubborn... I guess that can be a good thing, sometimes. But normally, it just lands you in trouble—"_

Out of the blue, she stops all movement, her eyes glinting with _hope_ as an idea sparks in her mind. She analyses her surroundings and contemplates all of her options, unfolding the mental map in her mind. There's no way she's just going to give up now. That'd render all her pain and suffering to nothing.

As cliche as it sounds, there's always another way. There _has_ to be.

She finds something. It's just tiny little strand of light, glowing dimly in the dark shadows that were about to consume her whole. It's not as far away as it was before as before; the girl breaks out into a sprint without even realising it, every single fibre and speck of energy was exerted in a single mad dash, her hand reaching out…

 _"—Wake up. You can't deny reality forever, you know—"_

Her fingers clench tightly around something warm. In her grip, it grows hotter and brighter, rays of light (hope) exploding through her fingers like a firework. It shines in colours of passionate red, vibrant orange and bright yellow to lime green than an ocean blue, indigo and lastly, violet. Strangely enough, it doesn't hurt the slightest and the teenager stares, looking at the display in awe.

The girl—Reina—closes her eyes and allows herself to fade away with the light.

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **IT'S JUST A** **WONDERFUL,** **WONDERFUL,** **WORLD**

 **Part I**

* * *

And woke up.

Reina jerked awake and blinked wildly, grimy sweat clinging to her skin. The first thing she saw were two vibrant yellow eyes, staring at her with such ferocity, like the pupils of a cat but without like the slits. She sat up immediately before wincing at the sudden pain in her head, pounding as if she'd been hit by a sledgehammer or had a brick dropped right on top of her.

"...Ugh," She groaned, rolling over and rubbing the sore spot gently with her fingers. It did little to ease the pain and if anything, her nerves tingled from her touch like static.

"Ouch," Commented a slightly strained voice and it made Reina freeze in place. Opening her eyes warily, as her vision cleared up, she saw a person crouching on the tiled floor, clutching his forehead with one hand through rather long but uneven chestnut coloured hair.

She eyed the stranger; he had a rather slim form but Reina could just outline the muscles on his forearm which a shade or so lighter than the medium skin tone. He had an oval-shaped face, an upturned nose and pale red lips. His round eyes were cracked open wide enough to show rich amber irises, glistering almost like topaz gemstones.

His clothes consisted of a shirt that was greenish-blue in colour with a small folded back collar and rolled up sleeves which were fastened by bronze coloured buttons. The brown-haired boy had on a navy apron that was dotted with silver and gold, reminding the girl of the night sky with its odd star-like pattern. It seemed to be made of a smooth but matt material and was partially spread out on the ground like a blanket. She could see his pants poking out from under were khaki shaded and that ended somewhat below his knees, the edges being a little worn down. On his feet, he wore a pair of small soft brown boots which reach up to his ankles.

"Huh...? Wait... Oh my god, I'm sorry!" Once realisation dawned upon her, the girl scrambled to her feet, fussing over the boy and waving her arms in panic, "Does it hurt? Do you need an ice pack or something? Gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," He chuckled loudly, dismissing it with a light wave as he got up and lightly patting himself. Standing up, she realised he was taller than her by at least ten centimetres, "Nothing to worry over,"

But she didn't seem didn't seem convinced, the frown on her face showing obvious doubt, "You sure?"

The boy nodded reassuringly, backed up with a bright smile that showed clear dimples across his cheeks, "Of course! I've been told that I've got a pretty hard head. By the way, what's your name little miss?"

 _Little miss...?_

"It's Reina Kimura. Nice to meet you..." She trailed off. Wait, she didn't know his name.

"Ah, I'm Gaberieru Yasunishi, the Ultimate Metalsmith. My name's a bit of a mouthful to say so feel free to use a nickname. It's a pleasure to meet you, Reina!" They shook hands, though it was rather enthusiastic on the brown-haired boy's side.

* * *

— **Gaberieru Yasunishi: Ultimate Metalsmith** —

* * *

"U-ultimate? Oh, I'm one too," Reina said while pausing rather awkwardly, just realising that it was the first time in a while that she had interacted with anyone her age, let alone someone who owned a talent (excluding Kyoko, who she met in person a while back), "The Ultimate Textile Technician, that is,"

"Whoa, how neat!" Gaberieru complimented, "You must work with fabrics, right?"

She nodded, her lips curving into a small grin as she began to relaxed, "Yeah. That's right,"

"Could you guys get a move on? This isn't exactly the time for flirting," Grumbled another voice loudly from behind her, filled with irritation and annoyance. Reina whipped her head back and a boy with unnatural shaggy white hair caught her attention, leaning casually against the red wall. The scowl on his face, his sharp blue eyes and the glare carved on his features didn't make him any less intimidating. He was short, or at least shorter than her who stood at one point sixty-seven metres.

 _Gah! I completely missed him!_ Reina thought as let out a breath of air in surprise, eying the peculiar person.

The boy's outfit consisted of a black leather jacket that had a neat cutaway collar with its buttons undone on top of a plain white cotton shirt, a little too big for his small frame. He wore denim jeans held up by a thin belt, patches of the fabric tattered enough to see slight skin and on his feet, the white-haired boy had on a pair of soft black sneakers. She also noticed the expensive looking set of black headphones which wrapped loosely around his neck with a cable reaching down into his pants pocket.

"Now, now! No need to be so grumpy, Satoshi. We've been blessed with such a wonderful day, after all!" The metalsmith cheered, seemingly not effect by the smaller boy remark.

"And just how do you know that?" Snorted Satoshi in a dry tone as he gestured the rest of the room with his head, "There aren't even any windows in this place,"

Reina looked around. With the bright showcase lights, the walls that were painted a crimson shade alike to strawberries made her eyes ache. Though, the room itself was rather empty; the only pieces of furniture was a simple wooden desk at the very centre, a large bookshelf in one of the corners. There was big decorative glass vase filled with all kinds of colourful flowers opposite to the bookshelf and a few metres beside that, aligned with the desk was a plain looking door. But no windows.

"He's right," She muttered under her shallow breath. Now that she was fully awake, Reina realised the entire situation itself was quite bizarre. The last thing she remembered was going to bed so why on earth did she wake up in an unfamiliar room with two complete strangers? It just didn't make sense.

"Um, do you either of you two know what is going on?" The textile technician asked slowly, beginning to become weary.

"Not really," Admitted Gaberieru.

"No clue," Satoshi said, "But the sooner we're out, the better,"

Reina followed the boy's line one sight as he pointed his index finger towards the desk. There was a neatly folded piece of printer paper and blank envelope on the surface. She walked up to it, reading out loud the black words printed in a messy font and cute flower drawings that surround the message, just as if a toddler had been the one to make it.

[Dear Everyone,

Welcome to the Discovery Centre! Here, learning is an enjoyable experience. I do hope you enjoy your stay! To get started, please exit the room and go through the passageway into the main hall where your next set of instructions will be given. Being late will cause you to become disqualified!

From...]

The rest was blank.

"Exit the room, my ass! The door's locked and there's no other way out," Satoshi muttered vividly as he kicked the ground, shoving his scrunched up hands into his pockets, "Do people even know we're missing right now?! Who knows how long we'll be stuck in this goddamn place!"

"You shouldn't say the Lord's name in vain," Gaberieru reminded with a slight frown on his face, "But nevertheless, I'm sure we'll find a way out if we all work together,"

"I'd rather die than work with you!"

Reina's eyes flickered cautiously between the two teenagers, worry seeping into her tone, "Um! For now, let's just try and focus on finding a way out. Please?"

Her pleas were left unheard as both boys continued arguing in a rather one-sided fight. With a sigh, she began looking around.

* * *

 **MINI GAME: ESCAPE THE ROOM!**

* * *

The first thing Reina do was inspect the most obvious exit. It was a normal door that held no design, it's surface smooth and plain with a wooden frame and metallic knob, all painted in the same red colour as the walls. As she grabbed the cold handle, the girl heard Satoshi call out from behind her.

"Don't you think we've tried that before?" Sneered the white-haired boy, "Geez, I must be surrounded by idiots!"

"Satoshi! That's not a nice thing to say,"

Reina shrugged; no harm in trying, right? As expected, the handle didn't budge at all. The effort wasn't that much of a waste as she spotted the thin and small outline of a rectangular neatly carved on the wall just a little lower than eye level. She pressed her slim fingers against the surface lightly before cramping her long fingernails through the gap and pulled. Easily, the scrap of plaster came out and she was left looking at a sleek metal sheet embedded in the wall. Other than the four white cylinders with the number 'zero' printed in a coal black colour, there wasn't anything else.

The girl rolled one of the cylinders, watching curiously as the number one popped up, "Perhaps… a numbered lock?"

Still, she wouldn't be able to figure the passwords without any hints and blindly guessing would take way too long. Reina turned away from the door as she decided to take a look at another section of the room.

Her eyes wandered to the two boys as she quietly scuffled across the floor. Now that Gaberieru and Satoshi had stopped their chatter, the room was a deafening silence save for the light scuffling of movement.

As Reina stopped by the bookshelf, grabbing a random book that stood out to her—it was conveniently a shade of red, being so bright, it could almost be called neon. The golden letter 'U' was the only symbol on the bind. In fact, now that she was looking, all the spines of the books on that one shelf had that same letter. But the other books on the shelves above and under it were different.

"J… U… S… T? Just?" She read aloud. 'Just' as in 'justice'?

 _Hmm, I wonder what that's supposed to mean. I should memorise it. Who knows, it might come handy some time… or plain useless…_

Going through her options, Reina decided to head towards the white-haired boy next, standing in the corner of the room, looking down with his arms crossed tightly.

"Hey, Satoshi,"

"What do you want?" He grumbled, eyes never leaving the floor.

"Just want to ask a few questions, that's all," Reina chirped. Pointedly ignoring the glare shot her way, she continued, "Like, I know that none of us has a single clue at what's going on but… how long do you think we've been here?"

"Prolly 'round half a day," Satoshi briskly responded.

Reina blinked, "Hmm. Why would you say that?"

"Think about it logically. How long would it take to kidnap us all from our homes and dump us in this place? Add the fact that I've been awake for at least three hours–"

"Seriously?!" Exclaimed the brunette, green eyes widening.

He gave her a flat look, "Yes. Seriously. Now, as I was saying before someone interrupted me,"

"Oh, uh, sorry…" Reina hastily gave him an apology before gesturing with her hands for him to continue.

"Hmph. Anyway, there is no f*cking way we could have been here for less than six hours. I assume it's been even longer than that and even if there's no way for us to tell the time, it's obvious using common sense," Satoshi said, "Now, if that's all you want, then get out of my face,"

"Hold on! I have a question too," Gaberieru piped up out of the blue, raising his hand like a role-model student, "Introduce yourself. I mean, you just told me your first name before doing your own thing. If we're gonna be stuck here wouldn't it be nice to get to know each other?"

"...That's not even a question. And does it even matter?" Feeling the two ultimates stare down at him expectantly, he sighed, "Satoshi Mineru. The Ultimate Utatite. It's not much of a pleasure to meet you,"

* * *

 **— Satoshi Mineru: Ultimate Utatite —**

* * *

"Utaite..?" Gaberieru repeated slowly, blinking multiple times as a blank look took over his features, "I don't believe I've heard of the term before,"

"Noob," Satoshi said, clicking his tongue and leering at the older man with distasteful eyes.

"Hey now, no need to insult him. The tragedy caused many people to lose connection with technology. It's only been a few years since they got the internet up and running nationally again," Reina but in quickly, fearing that the two would but heads again; the utatite simply huffed. That obviously wasn't a good enough excuse for him, "Anyway, an utaite is a singer who covers songs and posts them online, right?"

Satoshi affirmed with a quick nod and the metalsmith besides him let out a long 'ohh' in understanding. With no one having anything else to say, the room went back to a painfully awkward silence and Reina went back to her little 'investigation'.

The textile technician went to the only piece of noticeable furniture that she hadn't checked out yet: the glass vase. It was the only object in the room that wasn't a shade of red and Reina thought of it as a blessing to her aching eyes.

When she got closer, the girl realised that the flowers weren't actually genuine but instead, amazingly realistic ones made from tissue paper, plastic and foam. It was arranged elegantly with crisp stalks sprouting out into brilliant yellow daffodils-or at least she assumed that's what they were. As Reina admired the artistic display, she spied an oddly shaped leaf amongst the surrounding green, standing out to its differently shaded neighbours, "...What's this?"

It popped right off as soon as Reina touched it and she gasped in surprise, staring at the artificial leaf in her hand. On the other side was written in clear white print, 'U-5'.

 _U-5… 'you five'? But there's only three of us. Maybe there's another two are outside? Wait no, that doesn't make sense. Perhaps, it has something to do with that message I saw earlier._

"Huh. That's weird," A deep voice spoke from behind her and she curiously turned around. It was, of course, Gaberieru, squinting at what looked to be a piece of folded paper in his hand. Satoshi had been intrigued as well, peering at the older man from where he was at, "It says 'T-2'...? Like the tea store?"

"Oh," The utatite let out, losing all interest in a single second, "Yeah, I got one of those things too. Said something like 'J-8', I think,"

Realising where this was going, Reina began examining her clothes. It was only then when she realised that she wasn't wearing what she had worn to bed that day and instead, had on a classy woollen beige parka coat with a fur collar, black elastic tights and leather boots of the same shade. The textile technician undid her jacket to reveal a thin white and long-sleeved blouse, rather plain but appealing.

 _Gosh, what am I wearing?! I don't even remember owning such posh clothes let alone actually wear them to bed. And how did I not notice this earlier? Wait a moment, who dressed me up in the first place?_

A cold shiver ran up her spine as horror clouded her mind. Reina paused her movement for a short moment, before letting out a large sigh and shaking her head. The girl continued her search.

 _No time to be thinking about unnecessities! Gotta find that piece of paper._

In her right breast pocket, Reina felt what she was looking for, her fingers wrapping around the item, but she also caught onto something else. She brought both items out: a paper card and a smooth plastic rectangular container. On the thin slip, the symbols 'S-7' was written in a cursive font, just like she had expected. That would have been the last one and if this was where she thought it was going, the girl had a pretty idea what to do next.

Before heading off to finally crack the puzzle, Reina eyed the other object in her hand before gingerly wrapping her fingers on the lip and opening the thin box. A pair of glasses with a familiar thick red-coloured frame shone back at her. The girl had almost forgotten that she wore glasses, not that she really needed them anyway. Her eyesight was spot on and these glasses only enhanced her vision; being the Ultimate Textile Technician, just 'good' wasn't good enough.

She slipped the spectacles on before frowning when her eyes ached as if they were unused to seeing through lenses after such a long period. After blinking several times, Reina smiled to herself, "That's better,"

"Now, can we get going? I'd like to get as soon as possible," The utatite hissed.

"Alright, alright," Reina went towards the door, Satoshi and Gaberieru following close behind her. The puzzle itself was simple; when shuffled around, the letters spelt the word JUST (which was on the bookshelf) and by putting the numbers that correspond to each letter, you got the four digits 8572. All she had to do was turn the cylinders and...

 _ **Click!**_

Reina punched the air, grinning maniacally, "Yes!"

* * *

 **MINI GAME:** **ESCAPE THE ROOM! - CLEARED**

* * *

"Good job, Reina, I knew you could do it!" Beamed Gaberieru, showing off his ever-so-bright smile. It had only been a few moments since Reina met the guy and she could already tell he one of those optimistic people; he practically transmitted a 'happy' aura, not that it was a bad thing, "See, as long as you have faith, things will turn out okay. God is always watching over us,"

Satoshi boy clicked his tongue, turning away, "Yeah, whatever,"

The metalsmith went through the doorway first and it was only then when Reina realised something was off about the way he walked, "Gaberieru..."

"Hmm?"

"...Your leg," Reina softly uttered. After all this time, it was only at this moment when she noticed the brown-haired boy's prosthetic, metal limb.

"Oh yeah. You noticed, huh?" Gaberieru said and while it was the same jolly tone, there was something wistful about his voice, "...I lost it when I was younger... when the tragedy occurred." He forced out a chuckle, "Sorry for ruining the mood. Now, shall we get going?"

The brown haired girl frowned but dipped her head solemnly. It wasn't any of her business.

With the metalsmith in lead and Satoshi trailing leisurely behind her, they began walking down the corridor. Reina didn't know where the path led but things were now looking up, even if it was just a little bit.

* * *

 **CHARACTERS INTRODUCED SO FAR:**

 **Red:**

Reina Kimura — _Ultimate Textile Technician_

Gaberieru Yasunishi — _Ultimate Metalsmith_

Satoshi Mineru — _Ultimate Utatite_

.

.

.

 _...15 Ultimates Left_

* * *

 **A/N: I know, it's been... ugh, five—nearly six months since I last updated. Really sorry about that but things have been really hectic in real life and I had no motivation what so ever. Just note no matter how long it takes for me to update, this is the ONE FANFICTION I'm unwilling to give up on as I've really wanted to make my own SYOC.**

 **This beginning chapter only introduced two new characters (shout out to those who own them!) but I promise that the next one will reveal at least six out of the eighteen! What do you think? Please let me know!**

 **Now that's done, I'll see you next time. Hopefully, a whole lot sooner!**


	5. PROLOGUE — II

"Are we there yet?" Gaberieru pondered aloud. The metal clanking of his prosthetic leg echoed around each alternative step he took.

The trio had been walking for a decent half an hour by now—perhaps twenty minutes? Half an hour? There was just no telling the time in a place without windows or clocks—and took countless twists and turns but the corridor just never ended. It was a complete labyrinth and it made the girl wonder; _just where on Earth are we?_

The other companion in their little impromptu group was quick to answer, letting out a quick and displeased; "No."

Satoshi was also losing his patience, perhaps for a different reason entirely. He held his leather jacket using his right arm as he walked, fanning himself with his other, more dominant hand. For his slim and feminine figure, the utatite was rather unfit. The girl could already notice the sweat forming on his forehead, sticking his bleached hair to his forehead, as he breathed shaky puffs of air.

"...how about now?"

 _"No."_

Reina couldn't really blame the guy though. She, herself, felt peeved at the current rollercoaster of events. Waking up at an unknown location and seeing two dubious faces when her most recent memory was her being curled up in bed at home was rather disturbing after all.

 **"NO."**

"I didn't even say anything," The metalsmith sulked.

"Don't give me that crap. You were going to!" Snapped Satoshi, swivelling his head to the older man as anger flickered in the utaite's eyes.

"...Well, that _is_ true,"

"You son of a—"

Forced laughter from the sole female as she joined the conversation, "Now, now! Let's just settle down, yeah?"

"Ughh! Does this hallway ever end? I'm gonna go crazy if I'm stuck with this idiot any longer!" The utaite groaned as he stomped ahead, thin fingers combing messy white locks.

Gaberieru simply chuckled, not phased in the slightest by the insult. He was about to comment on something when he almost bumped into the younger boy who had stopped dead in his tracks without warning.

"You okay, Satoshi...? Huh? Gaberieru?" A couple of moments after, Reina, lost in her own little world became aware of the sudden pause. She flickered her attention from one male to another in confusion before staring up ahead.

 _A door. A freaking mother-effing door._

Cue the three sweaty, tired Ultimates scampering across the hallway as Satoshi bolted like it was the last stretch of a marathon and was followed by Gaberieru shortly after. Reina briskly caught on and began sprinting, fatigue quickly forgotten.

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **IT'S JUST A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WORLD**

 **Part II**

* * *

The red path led to a spacious area with high, plain walls and a large wide ceiling that seem to stretch endlessly in a spiral of nothingness. Reina had to squint against the luminescent lights above her to make out the odd cables and metal boxes of sorts that were fixed to the upper inter surface. Instead of being a normal rectangular shape, the hall had seven white walls, each with a door of a different colour. They had just emerged out of the red door but the one next to it was orange, yellow, green, then blue, violet before finally and oddly enough, checked black and white. It was a strange place, indeed. And apparently, they weren't the only ones there either.

Across the room were three other individuals, two females and a male, standing by the yellow door. They were posed casually but Reina could tell they were tense from the curious glances they sent their way and the hush whispers that were shared.

 _I should probably initiate conversation… since it doesn't look like anyone else will._

"Be careful," Satoshi advised before she could speak, his eyes never leaving the strangers, "We don't know who they are. Or what they know."

Reina could only incline her head in a wordless agreement. She faced the small assembly, closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply and...

"Uhh… hello!" The black haired woman howled, cupping her mouth to get her message across as she waved her other arm, "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"

They shared glances before a woman clad in a chic black blazer and skirt replied with the same volume, "No, unfortunately, we do not. We were hoping you might have some answers!"

"I guess they don't a clue either," The textile technician mumbled, half talking to herself and half speaking to the other two boys beside her. She then continued in a loud tone, "My name is Reina Kimura! Is it okay if I come over? It looks like we're all in the same boat here,"

Some hesitance, then the woman nodded after sharing a few words with her companions. Leisurely taking steps, Reina approached the trio while Satoshi and Gaberieru watched warily from a distance.

She eyed the woman in front of her, who seemed much more petite close up when Reina got a better grasp of their heights; she looked like a lady of high status with her crisp cashmere blazer, an ironed long-sleeved dress shirt and sleek navy pencil skirt that went down to her knees. She wore plain charcoal stockings underneath that outlined her lean legs and had a pair of simple but elegant, leather, heeled boots. Reina noticed that she also wore a silver watch, diamond studs and had on a pair of thinly framed glasses.

"My name is Rin Kawahara, the Ultimate Secretary," Rin offered her hand as she introduced herself, flashing a small and practised smile showing her teeth, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Reina. I hope we get along,"

* * *

 **—** **Rin Kawahara: Ultimate Secretary** **—**

* * *

Rin had narrow, flint grey coloured eyes in contrast to her thin, pale lips that were drawn into a small smile and reddish-brown hair, neatly combed into a pixie cut. She had a somewhat round, childish face and petite figure with a fair complexion but on closer inspection, Reina found that the secretary's limbs were well toned. Overall, the women appeared to be very professional looking and business-like as well as having a straight powerful posture. She carried herself proudly with an air of self-confidence and charisma; fitting for Rin's talent as the Ultimate Secretary.

"Y-yes. Let's get along," Reina awkwardly greeted back, "Oh, I'm also the Ultimate Textile Technician,"

"Ultimate Textile Technician?" Rin repeated. Her face looked thoughtful as she pondered over the title and furrowed her arched eyebrows in the process, "Can't say I've heard of it before but it seems intriguing. Do your friends also have talents?"

The long-haired brunette nodded, after turning back for a moment to glance at her companions, "Yep! Oh, that's to your right, Satoshi and to your left, Gaberieru. I'll leave them to introduce their talents to you."

"Fair enough," The secretary said as she observed the two men waiting impatiently at the back, "Miss Reina, from your former statement, would I be correct to assume you woke up in an usual room and had to solve a puzzle in order to exit?"

"That's right. It was a simplistic office-like room with a red colour theme. We had to find four pieces of paper, three of which were on our person, to crack the code," Reina answered, "You had the same?"

"That's right. However, the place we were at had yellow walls. And we weren't in a study but a large laboratory," Rin informed as she recounted her actions, "We had to decode and follow a formula to separate a mixture which combined Compounds A and B using the apparatus found throughout the lab. After that, we had to pour the solution into a **NERCAST Chemical Property Scanning Device or CPSD for short** , in order to exit the room,"

 _What._ Reina blinked. Once. Twice.

She blinked three times in a row, continuously staring blankly at the reddish-brown haired secretary. Questions marks could literally be seen floating around the textile technician's head as she tilted her head to the side. The words went into one ear and straight out the other. She didn't think she'd even _heard_ of half of the phrases Rin had said during that last sentence, let alone _comprehended_ just what on Earth she said.

Sheesh, science was definitely _not_ her forte.

Rin managed a light chuckle as she took notice of the other girl's face as her eyes crinkled with faint amusement. It was the first genuine reaction Reina she had seen of her, "To be honest, I don't understand much of the specifics. It was lucky we had her on our side; as eccentric as she may be, she proved to be quite the asset in our group."

 _Her?_ There was only one other female in the room. The textile technician took notice of the tall pale women that was interacting with a man, leaning lazily on the wall with her hands in her pockets and more specifically, the bold lab coat rested only a couple of inches above the ground.

"I should get going now. I still have to introduce myself to the other two."

Reina looked up, snapping out of her thoughts, "Oh, of course."

"Take care," With nothing else to say, the conversation came to a halt and Rin left, her heeled boots making sharp tapping sounds as she headed off to meet the two boys on the other side.

Reina stared at her retreating back as Gaberieru initiated a conversation with the women with a broad grin on his face. _No problems there._ Then, she focused her attention to Satoshi who had his arms crossed in a vexed manner, still keeping his distance from the newcomer. Upon receiving eye contact, she gave a cheery thumbs-up before trotting over to the other two people in the warehouse.

Once the lady took notice to the approaching girl, she called out with an enthusiastic wave, "Hm? Greetings, fine specimen!"

 _F-fine specimen? That's a first_ — _I've been called a lot of things before but 'specimen' is a first. I guess Rin wasn't exaggerating when she said 'eccentric'._

"Nice to meet you too," The textile technician chose to say instead, "My name is—"

"Ah-hah! I already possess that knowledge, Reina Kimura!" The quirky woman boldly cut in as she smiled broadly with cracked lips, showing uneven stained teeth, "You must be asking, who am I? Well, feast your eyes on this; I am the extraordinaire, the one and only magnificent Ultimate Mad Scientist, Dr Frankie, most brilliant creator of the most ingenious inventions and head researcher of Frankie Corporation!"

* * *

 **— Dr Frankie: Ultimate Mad Scientist —**

* * *

Dr Frankie had short brunette hair which outlandishly stuck out at some points, to the point where it looked almost unnatural. There were grey highlights in her frazzled hair that made the woman seem much older than she should've been. She had hooded eyes that were a common brown shade and portly face; her skin was a low-key olive hue with a yellow undertone. There was a distinctive mole on her left cheek, just a few centimetres underneath the eye. Reina remarked at the older woman's figure; tall and leaning towards chubby but not overweight either.

The doctor wore a plain, white lab coat, the few last buttons were undone just enough to see the dark pants and the rim of a white, collared t-shirt. There were a pair of simplistic beige dress shoes on her feet as well as the oddly coloured socks—one a stripy bright rainbow, another with red spotted pattern—peaking out. With the flashy doctor's coat and that mysterious black suitcase which she held onto, the 'mad-scientist' really did look like someone who studied science despite the unruly and unkempt appearance she had.

" _Really_ , Karuta? You still trying to delude people with that nonsense? And talking about some corporation that doesn't exist, too," The man beside her heaved a heavy, dramatic sigh. He turned to Reina, "Don't let her fool ya'."

"Eh?"

"Her name's Karuta Tagishi, the Ultimate _'Self Proclaimed'_ Mad Scientist," He said, placing emphasis the phrase with fake, air quotation marks. Though, he seemed rather used to his fellow ultimate's unusual antics and his expression was only slightly exasperated if anything, "Honestly, she's pretty much just your normal scientist."

* * *

 **— Karuta Tagishi: Ultimate (Self Proclaimed) Mad Scientist —**

* * *

Reina could only let out a small: "Oh."

"Spoilsport," Karuta muttered vividly under her breath. She crossed her arms tightly and sent a childish glare towards the man, "Always ruining my fun."

"And I'm the Ultimate Paralympian, Iwao Fuchida! What's up?" His mood quickly brightened once introducing himself, raising his right hand for a high-five. Reina quickly brought her own hand up in order to meet his and winced when a loud, dull **'clap'** was made. _Damn, that hurt._

* * *

 **– Iwao Fuchida: Ultimate Paralympian –**

* * *

The athlete was dressed in a salmon spandex pink tank top along with a white long-sleeved Olympic Jacket that both had multiple logos (for sponsorship, Reina assumed, though she didn't recognise most of them) embedded into the clothing as well as the notable script on the back reading his name in bold, capital letters. He also donned short, washed-out grey chinos made out of polyester, expensive-looking runners and classy golden-rimmed sunglasses could be found in the lapel of his vest, poking out of the pocket.

Iwao possessed brilliant emerald pupils, a sharp nose and average-sized lips. His ruffled hair was a dark auburn shade with short but nonetheless visible sideburns which moulded his round, lightly tanned face. He had a rather thin build that was by no means scrawny but it certainly didn't give the impression of a sportsman.

True to his title, the Ultimate Paralympian had a disability. As far as Reina could tell, his left leg and right hand had been replaced with a prosthetic. It was easy to tell that the bottom limb was a fake with the outline showing on his leg though she had to admit that the synthetic silicon skin was impressively realistic. His artificial arm was even more outstanding; she hadn't even realized it was a prosthetic until the two of them shared a hand-clap and she felt for herself the unrealistic hardness of the limb, cold to touch.

"Paralympian? Wow, that's an incredible talent! You must be an amazing athlete in order have such a title," Reina remarked wildly, "What kind of sports do you play?"

"Haha, thanks! To answer your question, I'm a sprinter. Though I normally compete in short-distance track, I occasionally do stuff like ten kilometer marathons every now and again for charity." Iwao stated with bubbly laughter.

"That's really admirable of you,"

"It's all part of the gig. No biggie," Iwao was quick to dismiss the compliment as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

The black-haired woman frowned, "No, really! I think that—"

"What hogwash," Karuta cut in, practically throwing herself into the conversation, "You think that's something worth any praise? That isn't _even_ _as half as impressive_ as the achievements _I've_ made; of course, you ant-minded people wouldn't know the worth of science even if it hit you straight in the face!"

 _H-hogwash? Who even says that nowadays?!_

The Paralympian rolled his eyes, shifting his posture on the spot to a more comfortable pose whilst rolling his neck as if preparing for a long speech, "Here we go again."

"What do you mean by—"

Karuta haughtily laughed a sound that came straight out of a cliché Mean Girl's movie, "Ohohoho! Very well then!"

Reina was abruptly halted in the middle of her sentence yet again. She was beginning to get the feeling that it wouldn't be the last time either.

"Since you seemed to be oh so interested in my work, I'll let you in on some _riveting_ science gossip! It's supposed to be 'top secret' or something along those lines but blah, whatever!" The mad scientist had an old gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

 _Just a trick of the light_ , Reina reckoned.

"The government has been rumoured to embezzle thousands of dollars from taxes for an illegal experiment? Apparently, these funds have been gathered to research some rather... _interesting_ topics. Genetic mutation, artificial organ farms, cloning, you name it! Some say that they've found the key to immortality, even."

"Where did you even about that?" Iwao frowned, "There's no way that's actually true. I don't anything 'bout science and such but even I know that's impossible!"

"Oh, but you don't know that. Science can produce incredible findings. But, also the most unethical..." Karuta drawled out, pausing to add weight to her words. The tension in the air became heavy as silence took its place. However, just as Reina was debating whether or not to relieve some of the tension, the odd woman did the deed herself, "That's all just frivolous hearsay though! Pfft, did I actually get you with that? What a bunch of gullible dummies! Hhahaha!"

Reina was at a loss for words and that was putting it lightly. Iwao, as if noticing her astonishment, used his artificial hand to address her while keeping the still-manically-laughing scientist from hearing, "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. She's actually a really decent person once you get to know her."

"I don't doubt it," The other woman replied, "Though, it'll—"

 **"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep,"**

Out of the blue, sirens were brought to life as an absolutely maddening sound pierced the assemble of Ultimates' ears. The hall lights flickered erratically, turning dangerously dim. Reina brought her hands to her ears in a poor attempt to block out the noise and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the utaite nearly toppled over.

"Satoshi!"

Then, darkness enveloped the entire hall. Chaos ensued.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH—" _Was that Iwao?_ She couldn't tell.

"What's going on?!" _Gaberieru?_

"E-everybody, stay calm!" Reina shouted, yet it was lost in the engulfing sound.

"Shit! What the hell is happening?!" _Satoshi?_

"Damn it, again?"

"Be quiet, I can't _think!_ "

Then, the lights were switched back on. The brightest strained her eyes but Reina was caught up trying to scan the room through her wildly beating heart and incoming sledgehammer of a headache. Everyone was on edge, standing on guard and ears still covered save for Satoshi who knelt at the ground, groaning.

 _What just happened?_

Reina's line of sight drifted towards the green section, right next to the yellow area that she had been previously close to before the slight blackout. Immediately, she spotted the difference: three figures were hunched over just outside the lime coloured door, huffing in exhaustion.

The staggering shrine-maiden outfit caught the textile technician's attention the most, worn by a slender female. Her navy hair, long and wavy, reached all the way down to her hips and past the waist of her authentic red skirt. To the Miko's right was a tall man embellished in formal wear. And the most casually dressed male was decked out in worn trousers and worker boots.

 _Don't tell me... another lot of Ultimates? Are there Ultimates behind every set of doors?_

"Oi! Stay where you are! Who the fuck are you guys?!" Satoshi squawked, taking a step forward beside the textile technician, waving a pointy finger. When he had gotten there in the first place, Reina didn't know.

Gaberieru chastised softly, "Satoshi, maybe it would be a good idea to… tone it down a little? I think we're all in the same boat here."

"Nobody asked for your opinion!" The utatite snapped, his headphones rustling as he faced the metalsmith.

"True," Karuta piped in from the sidelines, "Though, I have to agree with the simpleton. Your voice is giving me a headache."

"What did you say?!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"S-simpleton...?" Gaberieru stuttered at the same time, completely taken back.

Rin breathed heavily as if to calm herself down, re-position her reading glasses with one hand as she stressed out the name of her teammate, "Karuta, please don't provoke the others."

"Yes, ma'am!" The scientist energetically mock-saluted. In the background, Iwao outwardly chucked before shutting himself up when the Paralympian realized that he was the only one laughing. He cleared his throat in embarrassment, coughing awkwardly as he raised his prosthetic hand to contain the noise.

 _What a lively bunch..._

One of the men raised his hands in surrender, calling out, "We do not mean any harm. I believe that we are all in a similar situation, after all. May we approach and have some much-needed discussions?"

"Sure!" Reina replied back instantaneously.

Information was sacred in the vague circumstances they were in—and besides, safety in numbers. Though, as the unfamiliar trio came over, the main group grew silent. Even the more carefree Ultimates like Gaberieru and Iwao were rather quiet. It was hard to tell who was friend and who was foe from a distance, even as short as one between the yellow and green zones.

"Greetings. I am the Ultimate Funeral Planner, Ketsuki Hitsugi," The pale man spoke in a collected, passive tone once he had been close enough to initiate a decent conversation, "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

* * *

 **— Ketsuki Hitsugi: Ultimate Funeral Planner —**

* * *

"Damn, that's depressing," Satoshi whistled. He almost sounded impressed if it weren't for the mocking undertone of his voice. Yet, Ketsuki didn't even bat an eyelash at the insult.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Reina Kimura. I'm also the Ultimate Textile Technician." Reina introduced herself with a smile, coming closer for a handshake. She took the moment to view the man more closely.

Ketsuki stood tall and upright—basically, a bean pole personified and combined with his ghastly complexion, he almost looked like a vampire. He had black hair, short and combed back neatly with the exception of a single stray lock that was perched on his forehead. His light heart-shaped face held a pair of sparkling blue eyes and downturned, pale lips. Reina spotted a mole at the lower side of his left cheek.

The funeral planer wore a prim tuxedo, blazer and all. At a glance, the textile technician could tell that all the material was all made from the highest of quality spools. He had a wine dress shirt beneath and an ebony black-tie neatly done around the collar. Formal suit pants and dark mahogany leather shoes completed the outfit, giving the impression of formality and higher class. Additionally, Ketsuki had a braided bracelet dangling on his wrist which had particular charms attached—though Reina couldn't quite figure out what they were supposed to symbolize from her perspective—and a necklace with a hint of silver wrapped around his neck before disappearing underneath the shirt.

Reina supposed his mannerism and outfit corresponded with his talent, the Ultimate Funeral Planner, as to respect those had who passed away. It was admirable in itself to have such a talent yet the textile technician thought that it was rather sad.

"Oh, we're doin' intros?" The other male member of the green group said, scratching the back of his completely naked head, "I guess I'm next—the name's Kouya Tsuruta the Ultimate Stone Mason!"

* * *

 **— Kouya Tsuruta: Ultimate Stone Mason —**

* * *

All hair was shaved off the stone mason's head to the point where impossible smoothness had been achieved. Kouya was a tan, brawny man with broad shoulders and well-developed muscles. He easily towered everyone with his imposing figure yet held a wide smile on his face. The man had a defined jaw-line though a slightly crooked, pointed nose with the tip just noticeable tilted and chapped lips; all these features gave the impression of the literal origin of a masculine man.

Kouya wore the same clothes you would expect on a handyman. He had a plain, miraculously white tank top which exposed both his arms—as well as an array of faded scar tissue. The stonemason also wore a pair of dark green, army patterned cargo shorts lined up with pockets which led to tough, working boots. They were a worn brown shade with protective steel plates around the toe area. Around his waist was an everyday tool belt that was essentially bare, save for one slotted screwdriver and pair of work gloves that had been tucked at the side.

"Your toolbelt's quite empty," Reina noted.

"Oh yeah. It was like this when I woke up back in the shrine thingy. Managed to pick up this nifty guy up though," He pointed to the screwdriver: a brand new flat head with a plastic handle. "But it's a fucking shame that my old toolset didn't come with me. Otherwise, that shitty puzzle would've been a piece of cake!"

 _He swears quite a bit… compared to Ketsuki, they're like polar opposites!_

Going with the flow, the woman stepped forward, bowing politely, "My name is Mitsuko Yakushimaru. I am the Ultimate Shrine Maiden. It's an honour to meet you."

* * *

 **— Mitsuko Yakushimaru: Ultimate Shrine Maiden —**

* * *

On closer inspection, Mitsuko had a distinct navy blue shade of hair and not the original black which Reina had though. It was long and a bit wavy, brushing just around her waist as it shone in the artificial light. She had similar coloured eyes, though they were a tad lighter and curiously round in shape. Mitsuko's ears were angled oddly though Reina couldn't help but find them cute.

She wore clothes alike to a traditional shrine maiden which showcased her enviable slender figure. The attire was separated into two components. Firstly, a white kosode which was essentially a shortened kimono robe. It also had extended sleeves made from a blended fabric that Reina couldn't quite wrap her head around. The kosode was tucked into a crimson hakama, a type of lengthy, slightly pleated pair of trousers that were wrapped around her waist with a ribbon. She had on classic wooden sandals which further reinforced the sacred atmosphere she displayed.

"Your attire is simply gorgeous! Everything from the modest v-neckline to the design of the sleeve to achieve a conventional yet comfortable movement is amazing!" Reina gushed, brain already circulating with new designs for more traditional outfits. She had never seen a shrine maiden's garments in person before; not to mention, there was a huge difference between old pictures and seeing the real deal, "Not to mention, you're so cute too! I wish I could squish your cheeks, oh my gosh!"

"U-um... thank you?" Her confusion was not unmerited for—there were faces of confusion plastered on everyone and Reina thought she heard a loud, exhausted sigh from Satoshi. But nothing could bring her down from the sudden wave of inspiration brought to the textile technician.

Now that the three new faces had been introduced, it was time to go around the other side of the makeshift circle; at least, that was what a certain eccentric lady thought, "And I am the most magnificent, most glorious—"

"That's Karuta, the Ultimate Scientist. And I'm the Ultimate Paralympian, Iwao Fuchida. Good to meet y'all."

" _Tch_." She clicked her tongue in clear distaste, "That's the Ultimate _Mad_ Scientist, Dr. Frankie, to you _uncultured_ _swines_."

"Self-proclaimed." The Paralympian added.

Kouya was taken back, "Uhhhh…"

"Don't mind her. She's just kinda like that; lil' _coo coo_ in the head if ya' get what I mean?" Iwao advised quietly, trying to sound somewhat discreet. He was miserably failing though according to the death glares he was receiving.

"I am Rin Kawahara and my title is the Ultimate Secretary. It's a pleasure."

"... It's really not a pleasure to meet you. For all we know, you—ow!" Satoshi yelped, attention snapping to the source of his misery; Gaberieru, who had 'lightly' knocked the other boy in the head. With a resigned sigh, he gave up, "Satoshi, the Ultimate Utaite."

Mitsuko barely opened her mouth before he tagged on, "I won't repeat it again. I'm a _singer_."

"Ohh…"

"Well, I guess I'm last. I'm Gaberieru Yasunishi and I'm the Ultimate Metalsmith. Nice to meet you all!"

"Metalsmith?!" Kouya cried out-loud, "Dude, that's like the same thing I do! But with stone! Man, that's fucking awesome!"

"Great. Just great," Satoshi muttered underneath his breath, "Now, we have two idiot knuckleheads with two useless talents. What's next? The Ultimate Woodworker? Or perhaps the Ultimate Clown?"

"You're gonna jinx it!" Karuta said as she played shoved her hands into her lab coat's pockets, "Though, the likelihood of a clown appearing in a situation like this is surprisingly high; a whopping total of twenty-five percent. That's eight percent more likely than killer robots showing up."

"I was wondering," Rin said, in an attempt to grab everyone's attention, "Could you tell us about the room you were in? I heard something about a shrine?"

Kouya nodded, "Ah, that's 'bout right! The whole flipping room came straight out of a picture. There was one of those lil' prayer things—"

"A Kamidana," Interrupted the shrine maiden, cringing at the vulgar description of a sacred altar.

"—and we had to bust the motherfucker open! 'Course, my awesome skills came in handy when we needed to break apart the cube toy we found inside. I wacked it with a **'bam'** then we got the key and ran out like crazy!"

"That recount is missing more than just a few major details," Ketsuki sighed, "There was another puzzle involving the layout of the tatami mats. We discovered a hidden safe underneath one of the loose mats and through further investigation, we figured out the password."

"What was the password? To the safe, I mean," Reina piped up, curious.

"The word 'ore', like iron ore? Fuckin' weird if you ask me," Kouya was the one who answered, lifting his arms up in an exaggerated shrug.

 _Just... Ore... It looks like they're just random words..._

"Great. We're stuck to square one, aren't we?" Satoshi's dry tone dripped with evident sarcasm, "We literally have no answers. We still have no idea how we got here. Just who brought us here or their motives.

"And the biggest question of them all...

 **"... why were we brought here in the first place?"**

* * *

 **CHARACTERS INTRODUCED SO FAR:**

 **Red:**

Reina Kiruma — Ultimate Textile Technician

Gaberieru Yasunishi — Ultimate Metalsmith

Satoshi Mineru — Ultimate Utaite

 **Yellow: (New!)**

Rin Kawahara — Ultimate Secretary

Karuta Tagishi — Ultimate (Self Proclaimed) Mad Scientist

Iwao Fuchida — Ultimate Paralympian

 **Green: (New!)**

Kouya Tsuruta — Ultimate Stonemason

Ketsueki Hitsugi — Ultimate Funeral Planer

Mitsuko Yakushimaru — Ultimate Shrine Maiden

 _...9 Ultimates Left_

* * *

 **A/N: Sheesh! Now, finalllllllllly, what you've all (not) been waiting for... the next part of the prologue! Yipee! Now, I know it's been a lonnnnnnnnnnnng time since I last updated; heck, it's been a year and we've still on the prologue! But I'm determined to see this through to the end to this fanfiction and I hope you'll be there with me for the very long, emotional and bumpy ride!**

 **If anything good came out of that pause, it would be the fact that I've done a lot of thinking about the plot and world—what type of class trials I want and the specifics, all leading up to a basically completed plan for the entirety of the fanfiction. So, I'll actually know what I'm writing and lots of references, everywhere! Let me know your theories! I'm curious to know what you think.**

 **Nine Ultimates Down, Nine More to Go! We're halfway there with two more parts of the prologue to go! Who's your favourite character so far?**

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 **RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:**

 **Scissor-Sniper: Although this would've been a while ago, thanks for reviewing! You're spot on with the Zero Escape theme; I absolutely adored those games and had to incorporate some of the key traits, hehe!**

 **Poison Banana: Oh wow, another person who linked the previous chapter back to Zero Escape! Gaberieru is one of my favourites too; though, I have to admit that it took me a while to spell his name properly... Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Lupus Overkill: Indeed, the situation is mysterious... and it's only about to become more so! With this part of the prologue, hopefully, you've got more of a grasp on the vibe. I've introduced your character in this chapter, I do hope she was what you imagined. Thanks for reviewing, Lupus!**

 **PitchouliGroovemore: Haha, that's okay! With my update rate, it wouldn't be surprising if I forgot about this fanfiction! But I haven't and I'm determined to somehow complete it... one chapter... at a time...**

 **TheRoseShadow21: Thank you, Rose! And to you too! :D**

 **FairyBookworm: A Satoshi fan, huh? Maybe you'll find a new favourite with the other six characters I've introduced! Who knows? Anyway, thanks Fairy!**

 **Crimson Spider Lily: I have to agree with you on that** **—** **Gaberieru's name has been making my fingers all jumbled up, haha! And yes, more Escape Room feels. I'm glad as that's what I was going for! Thank you for reading!**

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 **That's pretty much all from me;** **I also want to say a huge thank you for those who waited this long for the update! N** **o promises for the next update but with the amount of inspiration I have right now, maybe next month! (ahem, again NO PROMISES, ugh) Until next time, dear readers ~**


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